Estelle Parsons

Infobox actor

---

imagesize = 150px
name = Estelle Parsons
birthname = Estelle Margaret Parsons
birthdate = birth date and age|1927|11|20
birthplace = Lynn, Massachusetts, United States
spouse = Richard Gehman
(1953-1958)
Peter Zimroth
(1983-present)
academyawards = Best Supporting Actress
1967 "Bonnie and Clyde"

Estelle Margaret Parsons (born November 20, 1927) is an Academy Award-winning American theatre, film and television actress. She is a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame.

Early life

Parsons was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, the daughter of Elinor Ingebore (née Mattson), who was a native of Sweden, and Eben Parsons. [ [http://www.nyc-plus.com/nyc22/thepasionofestelle.html The Passion of estelle parsons ] ] [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/52/Estelle-Parsons.html Estelle Parsons Biography (1927-) ] ] [ [http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800039903/bio Estelle Parsons Biography - Yahoo! Movies ] ] She attended the Oak Grove School for Girls in Maine. After graduating from Connecticut College in 1949, Parsons initially studied law and then worked as a singer with a band before settling on an acting career in the early 1950s.

Career

Moving to New York, she worked as a writer, producer and commentator for "The Today Show". She began performing Off-Broadway in 1961, and received a Theatre World Award in 1963 for her performance in "Whisper into My Good Ear/Mrs. Dally Has a Lover" (1962).

Parsons has received Tony Award nominations for her work in "The Seven Descents of Myrtle" (1968), "And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little" (1971), "Miss Margarida's Way" (1978) and "Morning's at Seven" (2002). She played the Widow Begbick in the American premiere of the Weill – Brecht opera "Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny" (1970), and performed as Mrs. Peacham to Lotte Lenya's Jenny in Threepenny Opera on tour and in New York City. She also played "Ruth" in Gilbert & Sullivan's "The Pirates of Penzance" on Broadway in 1981, and as of July 2008, is playing the role of "Violet Weston" in by Tracy Letts.

As a director, Parsons has a number of Broadway credits, including a production of "Romeo and Juliet", "Macbeth" and "As You Like It" in 1986. Off-Broadway, she directed Dario Fo's "Orgasmo Adulto Escapes From the Zoo" (1983). She also served as the Artistic Director of the Actors Studio for five years, ending in 2003.

Her film career includes an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Blanche Barrow in "Bonnie and Clyde" (1967), and a nomination for "Rachel, Rachel" (1968). She also received a BAFTA Award nomination for her role in "Watermelon Man" (1970), and appeared in "I Never Sang for My Father" (1971), "A Memory of Two Mondays" (1974), "For Pete's Sake" (1975), "Dick Tracy" (1990) and "Boys on the Side" (1995). She was also the original choice to play the part of Pamela Voorhees in the 1980 film Friday the 13th (the part later went to Betsy Palmer).

On television, Parsons played the part of Roseanne Barr's and Laurie Metcalf's pretentious mother, Beverly, on the long-running sitcom, "Roseanne". Her other television credits include appearances on "The Patty Duke Show", "Frasier", "", "All In The Family", and "Archie Bunker's Place".

In 2004, Parsons was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.

References

External links

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* [http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=people&keyword=name&first=Estelle&last=Parsons&middle= Estelle Parsons] at the

###@@@KEY@@@###succession box
title=Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
years=1967
for "Bonnie and Clyde"
before=Sandy Dennis
for "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"
after=Ruth Gordon
for "Rosemary's Baby"

Persondata
NAME= Parsons, Estelle
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Parsons, Estelle Margaret
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Actress
DATE OF BIRTH= November 20, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH= Lynn, Massachusetts, United States
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=